Natalie Wood Autopsy Report

NOVEMBER 18--Just in time for the 30th anniversary of Natalie Wood’s death, Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies have decided to take a new look at the actress’s November 1981 drowning off Catalina Island. The move was prompted by a book co-authored by the captain of the yacht on which Wood, her husband Robert Wagner, and actor Christopher Walken were partying.

The captain, Dennis Davern, contends that Wagner impeded his initial efforts to locate Wood after she went missing, and has claimed that the 81-year-old actor was “responsible” for his wife’s death.

An investigation by the Los Angeles coroner, however, ruled the 43-year-old Wood’s death an accident.

In the coroner’s report, excerpted here, Wagner was “questioned regarding the possibility of suicide, however he states that wife was not suicidal.” The document also describes the recovery of Wood’s body from the ocean. She was wearing a flannel nightgown and socks and investigators “noted foam coming from mouth.”

While Wood’s body had “numerous bruises to legs and arms,” coroner’s officials reported “No other trauma noted and foul play is not suspected at this time.” (2 pages)